Aaron Bates speaks Wednesday after being introduced as athletic director at Fairfield Christian. Bates, 24, is a former football player at Michigan State. / Vince Nairn/Eagle-Gazette

Written by

Vince Nairn

The Eagle-Gazette Staff

LANCASTER — The upcoming school year will be filled with change for Fairfield Christian athletics, and the school introduced some of the new people leading the department Wednesday.

The school introduced athletic director Aaron Bates, football coach B.J. Queen and girls basketball coach Ben Bethel in front of a few dozen people. Bates, 24, was a punter for Michigan State’s football team from 2007-10. He then returned to the school for two seasons as a graduate assistant.

“I was just really excited when Fairfield Christian provided me the opportunity to come here,” Bates said. “I was a little worried. I know I had a lot of experience in different things, but I didn’t really have the educational experience. But I thought my potential was pretty high. Fairfield Christian saw that in me, and I’m hoping to make it on my end of the promise.”

Bates was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and earned second team All-America honors as a senior. His most famous collegiate moment happened in 2010, when he threw a touchdown pass in overtime on a fake field goal to beat Notre Dame 34-31. Michigan State was 11-2 that year and finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten title.

With his playing career finished, Bates — a graduate of John Glenn High School near Zanesville — has returned to Ohio. He said he is happy to be back and looks forward to being in charge of the Knights’ athletic department.

“That was one of the reasons I wanted to get into education because I thought I could come back close to home and be around family,” Bates said. “I enjoy that. My wife’s family is here. I was hoping I could come back, so this is a nice place to come.”

Mary Beth Dewese, who served as athletic director in 2012-13, will serve as Bates’ assistant. Bates said he also will teach a strength class at the school and help out the football team as a coach when possible.

“So far, (the biggest challenge) has been figuring out what I’m doing when I have no clue what I’m doing,” Bates said, laughing. “I bother Mary Beth all the time trying to figure out if there’s something I should be doing.”

Among the goals Bates stated was trying to stabilize numbers across all sports starting at younger ages through high school. He mentioned a desire to build new facilities for the school, but said that is best suited as a long-term goal.

Queen replaces popular former football coach Dave Daubenmire. Daubenmire was not brought back after a 2012 season in which the Knights made the playoffs and he was voted Division VI Coach of the Year in the Central District.

Queen has his work cut out for him as Fairfield Christian has lost a handful of players to transfers the past two years. Queen said numbers have been at about 30 in offseason workouts, and he will work to keep the group engaged and prepared.

“Whenever you have changeover is when you’re going to see kids kind of decide to go maybe a different route,” Queen said. “So the best thing I can do to prevent kids from transferring is stay here. Let them feel comfortable with me. Let me know I’m there for them. We will promote Christian ideals and make them feel proud of their Christian beliefs. That will help get that retention that we need.”

Queen said he will run a hybrid/wing-T offense, which includes a lot of motion and the ball being distributed to many backs with a mix of passing and running.

“It’s not going to be one or the other,” Queen said. “We’re going to spread the ball out and give it to a lot of people. To have a great offense, you’re going to have to be balanced. My goal is to have the passing and running numbers pretty similar.”

Fairfield Christian is entering the Mid-State League-Cardinal Division in all sports in 2013-14. The changes at the top of the athletic department coincide with the move to its most notable conference since the Knights joined the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Fairfield Christian previously played in the Mid-Ohio Christian Athletic League and were an independent in football.

Queen previously was an assistant at Grandview Heights, so he is no stranger to the MSL-Cardinal. The Bobcats were one of four schools to leave the league this year, but Queen said he knows much about the Knights’ future opponents.

Bethel is a veteran at the school as he was a boys basketball assistant under Roger Hooper in 2011-12. He will be Fairfield Christian’s third coach in as many years, and said he hopes to bring stability to the program.

“You need someone there,” Bethel said. “Just being there and staying at the same coaching position. I’ve been to four different schools already and I’m in my 30s. I’m at the point where I need to stay somewhere, and this is the best situation I think I’ve gotten myself into. I think I can bring stability to the program that way.”